STUDY DESIGN:: - A retrospective review of 24 cases of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis - Intra-operative push prone test to determine the lowest instrumented vertebrae. OBJECTIVE:: determination of lowest instrumented vertebra using intra-operative push prone test. BACKGROUND:: Determination of the lowest instrumented vertebra in surgical treatment of the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis ...

Frozen plasma (FP) is commonly used in an attempt to correct coagulation defects before performing bedside, radiologically guided, or operating room procedures. Use of FP prophylactically is closely linked to results for standard coagulation tests in the laboratory, including prothrombin time, but there is a general lack of evidence supporting ...

To assess the usefulness of vestibular testing in patients with acoustic neuroma, considering two main aspects: to compare diagnostic sensitivity of the current vestibular tests, especially considering ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (OVEMPs) and to identify pre-operative localization of the tumor (inferior vestibular nerve vs. superior vestibular nerve) only with ...

The effect of relative humidity (RH: 30% to >95%) of a gas-phase mixture composed of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and para-, meta- and ortho-xylenes (BTEX), inlet concentrations (0.2-12.6gm(-3)), and empty bed residence times (EBRTs) (48-144s) was tested in a fungi-dominant biofilter. A maximum elimination capacity (EC(max)) of 244.2gBTEXm(-3)h(-1) was achieved at ...

There has been little published work defining 'normal' thromboelastography (TEG(®) ) values in healthy parturients, and few large studies defining reference ranges for traditional coagulation tests in this patient group. Our aim was to establish peri-operative reference ranges for TEG and for standard laboratory coagulation tests in our pregnant population. ...

: Helicobacter pylori infection has been implicated in the pathogenesis of gastroduodenal diseases such as recurrent peptic ulceration and particularly residual stomach cancer in the postoperative stomach. : To determine the performance of different commonly used tests for the diagnosis of H. pylori infection in patients after partial gastrectomy. : ...

Biodiesels are often marketed as being cleaner than regular diesel for emissions. Emission test results depend on the biodiesel blend, but laboratory tests suggest that biodiesels decrease particulate matter, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and air toxins when compared to regular diesel. Results for the amount of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) have ...

Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) procedures and protocols have largely been standardised through the creation of, and amendments to, the INTERPOL DVI Guide. Whilst robust in addressing the recovery of mass fatality victims resulting from natural disasters, accidents and acts of terrorism, the guide does not explore the problematic issue of ...

Food processing establishments incur costs to install, maintain, and operate equipment and implement specific food safety practices. During times of economic recession, establishments might reduce their food safety efforts to conserve resources and reduce costs of operation. This study was conducted to determine whether financial performance measures are systematically associated ...

Objectives: Decellularized biological scaffolds represent a promising solution for tissue engineering. They offer a good substrate for cells in terms of biochemical composition, ultrastructure and mechanical properties without generating an immunogenic response. The aim of this study was to design and develop a device for the automatic decellularization of biological ...

BACKGROUND: The use of ultrasonography to localize the testis in children with undescended testis is still controversial. This study was designed to determine the value of ultrasound in the preoperative assessment of children with undescended testis in a resource-limited setting. METHODS: A retrospective evaluation of all boys undergoing operation for ...

Operators of machinery classified as Advanced Manufacturing Technology (AMT) are exposed to high levels of workload and fatigue. However, only few studies have been conducted on this topic in Hispanic-American countries workers. Several instruments be used to assess workload and fatigue; however, only few of them have been adapted to ...

To measure macular visual function in patients with unstable fixation, to define the photoreceptor source of this function, and to estimate its test-retest repeatability as a prerequisite to clinical trials. Patients (n = 38) with ABCA4-associated retinal degeneration (RD) or with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) were studied with retina-tracking microperimetry along ...

PURPOSE: This research aimed to increase the analogy between text reception threshold (TRT) and speech reception threshold (SRT) and to examine the TRT's value in estimating cognitive abilities important for speech comprehension in noise. METHOD: We administered five TRT versions, SRT tests in stationary (SRT(STAT)) and modulated (SRT(MOD)) noise, and ...

Behavioral responses of female mosquitoes representing two species in the Minimus Complex exposed to an operational field dose of bifenthrin or DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide) were described using an excito-repellency test system. Two test populations of An. minimus, one from the field (Tak Province, western Thailand), the other from a long-established laboratory ...

We hypothesize that an anecdotally observed increase in tourniquet breakage and decrease in efficacy may be secondary to environmental exposure during military deployment. This was a study comparing efficacy and breakage of 166 Afghanistan-exposed tourniquets to 166 unexposed tourniquets. Afghanistan exposure was defined as tourniquet carriage by field staff in ...

The purpose of this research was to calibrate an item bank for a computerized adaptive test (CAT) of asthma impact on health-related quality of life (HRQOL), test CAT versions of varying lengths, conduct preliminary validity testing, and evaluate item bank readability. Asthma Impact Survey (AIS) bank items that passed focus ...

OBJECTIVE: To test for differences in reliability and performance between traditional, isolated perimetry and simultaneous testing with 2 patients in the same room. DESIGN: Comparative case series. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 471 eyes of 261 subjects. METHODS: Consecutive patients undergoing Humphrey visual field (VF) testing in the Kellogg Eye Center ...

PurposeTo analyze Humphrey visual field (HVF) findings in hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) retinal toxicity.MethodsHVF tests were interpreted retrospectively in this observational case series of 15 patients with HCQ toxicity. Patients seen at Lahey Clinic were identified by diagnosis coding search. Patients with age-related macular degeneration or glaucoma with visual field loss were ...

PURPOSE: Nigeria is the largest cattle-rearing nation in Africa with most animals kept under traditional husbandry practices. While bovine brucellosis does not receive much attention, a relatively high seroprevalence is found in samples submitted for laboratory testing. The aim of the study was to provide serological evidence of brucellosis in ...

The objectives of the current study were to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of three real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for diagnosis of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection in domestic cats, both individually and when interpreted in series with one of two serological tests, separately in populations of cats ...

Object All-terrain vehicle (ATV) usage has grown tremendously over the years, reaching 9.5 million vehicles in use in 2007. Accompanying this growth has been a concomitant increase in rider morbidity (including traumatic brain and spine injuries) and death, especially in children. The purpose of this study was to define and ...

Objective:While event (EA) and trend analyses (TA) have been widely adopted to evaluate glaucoma progression in clinical trials, there is poor agreement between the strategies and no consensus on strategy selection in clinical practice. With computer simulation of progressive loss of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL), we compared the ...

Objective:To implement a 6-month quality improvement project in 13 clinics in North Carolina to improve vision screening rates for children 3 through 5 years of age.Methods:We trained each clinic in approaches to vision screening and selected champions to provide feedback based on a 3-month baseline chart audit of up to ...

In this study, we investigated motor and non-motor behaviour in the transgenic rat model of Huntington's disease (tgHD). In particular, we were interested in the development and changes of motor and non-motor features (anxiety, motivation and hedonia) of disease over time and their interactions. We found tgHD animals to be ...

Norweg A, Ni P, Garshick E, O'Connor G, Wilke K, Jette AM. A multidimensional computer adaptive test approach to dyspnea assessment. To develop and test a prototype dyspnea computer adaptive test (CAT). Prospective study. Two outpatient medical facilities. A convenience sample of adults (N=292) with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). ...

To produce a conceptually equivalent Arabic version of the Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Assessment Test (CAT), and to assess its reliability. A prospective observational study was carried out from June 2010 to September 2010 at King Abdulaziz Medical City and King Khalid University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We conducted ...

PURPOSE:: The purpose of the study was to assess the effect of ibopamine (3,4 di-isobutyrrylester of N-methyldopamine), a D1-dopamine agonist, on intraocular pressure (IOP) in offspring of parents with primary openangle glaucoma as a consequence of outflow structures impairment. MATERIALS AND METHODS:: We included participants aged between 8 and 40 ...

Excito-repellency responses of 3 test populations, representing 2 sibling species within the Minimus Complex, Anopheles minimus and An. harrisoni, were characterized for contact irritant and noncontact repellent actions of chemicals during and after exposure to alpha-cypermethrin at half the recommended field (0.010 g/m2), the recommended field (0.020 g/m2), and double ...

The environmental risks of pesticides are typically determined by laboratory single-species tests based on OECD test guidelines, even if biodiversity should also be taken into consideration. To evaluate how realistic these assessments are, ecological changes caused by the systemic insecticides imidacloprid and fipronil, which have different physicochemical properties, when applied ...

PURPOSE.: To compare visual fields on the Nidek MP-1 to those obtained on the Humphrey field analyzer (HFA) in healthy volunteers and assess the effects of differences in stimulus parameters and testing strategies that may influence the interpretation of results in patients. A secondary aim was to establish MP-1 normative ...

The HYDAD-D landmine detector (Brooks and Drosg, 2005) has been modified and field-tested for 17 months in a variety of soil conditions. Test objects containing about the same mass of hydrogen (20g) as small explosive remnants of war, such as antipersonnel landmines, were detected with efficiency 100% when buried at ...

PURPOSE.: To evaluate the reliability and validity of grating visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity (CS) tests, which could be useful outcome measures to assess changes in severely reduced vision. METHODS.: The Grating Acuity Test (GAT) and Grating Contrast Sensitivity (GCS) tests, which involve the detection of grating orientation in ...

Birdshot chorioretinopathy (BSCR) is a rare form of posterior uveitis in which hypopigmented choroidal lesions are scattered throughout the posterior pole. In order to avoid the poor natural history of BSCR, many practitioners would argue that it is critical to diagnose and carefully monitor the often subtle activity of this ...

This study determined the importance of including tests for refractive errors in vision screening. In this cross-sectional study, we performed a random cluster sampling of schoolchildren in the city of Dezful, Iran. After sampling and obtaining informed written consents from their parents, children underwent examinations at the school sites. Students ...

Sidman (1994) noted that the existence of a member that is common to more than one class may produce either class merger (union) or class intersection. A multiple-selection, matching-to-sample test was developed to examine the conditions under which these outcomes occur. Test trials each required three conditional discriminations involving selection ...

Previously reported superior visual acuity (VA) in autism spectrum conditions (ASC) may have resulted from methodological settings used (Ashwin, Ashwin, Rhydderch, Howells, & Baron-Cohen, 2009). The current study re-tested whether participants with (N=20) and without (N=20) ASC differ on psychophysical measures of VA. Participants' vision was corrected before acuity measurement, ...

Mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB (MPS IIIB) is a lysosomal storage disorder characterised by severe behavioural disturbances and progressive loss of cognitive and motor function. There is no effective treatment, but behavioural testing is a valuable tool to assess neurodegeneration and the effect of novel therapies in mouse models of disease. Several groups ...

Traditional explanations for the evolution of high orbital convergence and stereoscopic vision in primates have focused on how stereopsis might have aided early primates in foraging or locomoting in an arboreal environment. It has recently been suggested that predation risk by constricting snakes was the selective force that favored the ...

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is a social disease that is common in immigrants who are forced to live in difficult circumstances. In Italy, the guidelines for preventing TB include X-ray screening and application of the Mantoux test for migrants from high-TB-endemic countries as soon as possible after admission to Italy. This article ...

Psychological researchers in different fields sometimes encounter circular or directional data. Circular data are data measured in the form of angles or two-dimensional orientations. As an example, experiments investigating the development of spatial memory and the influence of visual experience on haptic orientation perception are presented. Three permutation tests are ...

The aims were to test the intraexaminer reproducibility and report the presence of specific clinical variables of scapular dyskinesis in cases with trapezius myalgia and healthy controls, along with general health and work ability. A total of 38 cases and 23 controls were tested for scapular dyskinesis, general health, and ...

Background:  We aim to establish normative values and evaluate test-retest variability for the central and foveal field tests of version 4 of rarebit perimetry. Design:  This was a prospective study undertaken in collaboration between Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, and Singapore Polytechnic. Participants:  Fifty-four normal subjects were recruited and included ...

In many cases, X-linked conditions are transmitted through families "silently" until the first affected individual is diagnosed. Grandmothers are often then tested to help determine the risk to other family members. To date, psychosocial research on carriers of X-linked conditions has focused primarily on mothers and sisters of affected males. ...

Background Basophil histamine release (BHR) to allergen has been used as a confirmatory test to support the clinical diagnosis of allergic disease. Objective Among subjects reporting respiratory cat allergy, we hypothesized that cat-induced BHR in vitro would predict nasal allergen challenge (NAC) response in that same individual. We therefore compared ...

A 55-year-old Hispanic man born in New Mexico presented with progressively worsening bilateral upper eyelid ptosis and dysphagia. External levator advancement 5 years before did not improve his ptosis. A thorough systemic workup for myasthenia gravis was negative, but electromyography suggested a myopathic process. Molecular genetic testing was positive for ...

Assessment techniques used to measure functional tasks involving active trunk control are restricted to linear movements that lack the explosive movements and dynamic tasks associated with activities of daily living and sport. Reliable clinical methods used to assess the diagonal and ballistic movements about the trunk are lacking. To assess ...

Traditional teaching on anomalous retinal correspondence (ARC) identifies the dissociative quality of a sensory test as the primary factor influencing the outcome of correspondence testing. However, these tests differ also in function and format. This study compared one mildly dissociating test and one highly dissociating test to evaluate the subjective ...

We note that the essential idea of inflation, that the Universe underwent a brief period of accelerated expansion followed by a long period of decelerated expansion, can be encapsulated in a "closure condition" which relates the amount of accelerated expansion during inflation to the amount of decelerated expansion afterward. We ...

The accreditation of the Competent Incorporation Measuring Body at Jülich includes incorporation monitoring by means of direct measurements of the body activity as well as by means of indirect determination of the body activity by radiochemical analysis of excreta samples. In both testing areas, it proved to be very useful ...